Kate Winslet says she plays her ‘disgusting, charming, loveable, loathsome' alter ego in new HBO series and we’re sold

Kate Winslet takes on a detective role in HBO's new limited series Mare of Easttown and she's teasing her new "alter ego" with a slew of adjectives that really just make us want to watch all seven episodes right now. Winslet stars as Mare Sheehan, a detective from Pennsylvania who is fixed on solving a small-town murder and she sounds pretty, um, eccentric.

The plot for the show (which also stars Evan Peters, Guy Pearce and Jean Smart) centres around Mare's attempt to solve a local murder while also balancing her own personal life, which is rapidly falling apart.

Mare of Easttown premieres on Crave on April 18 and Winslet told etalk's Chloe Wilde all about her love for her character.

Winslet said that Mare is “so many things” which is what's so great about playing her. She continued, “She’s sort of disgusting and charming. She’s loveable and loathsome. She’s a pain in the ass and she could also be your best friend. She’s morally sound and then morally really corrupt at the same time.”

The actress said she really “indulged” in playing all of those aspects of Mare. “She drinks beer and coffee. You never see her drink water and she eats a lot of bad junk. That was kind of great as well. I mean it was just amazing to play someone who just doesn’t care what people think,” she added.

“She just is who she is and makes no apology about that. That’s a kind of admirable, enviable quality,” Winslet said before adding that Mare “sort of became my alter ego for me in many ways.”

Winslet said that Mare is a “huge personality” and a “driven, determined, passionate, wholehearted person.”

“The things that matter to her are the things that she fights for on a daily basis. I admired her as well as loved her and was able to truly, sort of, disappear into her. I’ve had a hard time actually kind of letting go of playing her. I love being her so much,” she revealed. 

The show began filming in 2019 but was forced to delay production when the COVID-19 outbreak shut down basically everything last year. Winslet said part of her affinity for the character is that she spent ages 43 to 45 playing her.

“It was almost two years of my life really being this woman and there’s a bomber jacket — you know that bomber jacket that she wears in the show? That came home with me when we finished and it’s on my hook in the house. Every now and then, I just put it on,” she said. 

Winslet said when she puts that jacket on it’s like “permission to not care what anyone thinks because that’s how Mare is.”

The Titanic actress has us on the edge of our seats in anticipation for this show. She teased that we’re in for a ride once we get to episode five, but episode six “completely unravels you as well.”

“I am very proud of this show. It’s rare for me to say that out loud. I hate to kind of like blow my own trumpet. I try to be really humble but the show is so great,” Winslet said.

“At the end of every episode there is a huge cliffhanger and yes, it’s set in a small town. It is a crime story but that’s a small part of the bigger picture. It’s really about community. It’s about family. It’s about fighting for what you believe in. It’s also about a woman. She’s a mother and she’s also a grandmother and she’s dealing with enormous amounts of personal crisis whilst trying to solve this murder that happens in episode one,” Winslet shared.

She said that the show feels “very real” because it’s about “real things happening to real people.”

“I absolutely love playing this character and being part of the show,” she added.

Turns out Winslet is also like her character Mare when it comes to her athleticism. This year, on the set of the Avatar sequels, she held her breath underwater for seven whole minutes and fourteen seconds, beating Tom Cruise’s record of six minutes.

Winslet gives credit to “a lot of training” for helping her hit that impressive goal.

“When Jim Cameron comes to you and says ‘I’d love you to be in Avatar and you know, you don’t have to do any of the water stuff but it could be kind of cool if you do because you’ll learn how to free dive and breath-hold.’ I was like ‘I’m in, sign me up!’” she said, adding that it was “just amazing.”

“It’s definitely a case of don’t try this at home,” Winslet cautioned.

“I loved it. I actually found it really relaxing because you have to calm your body down and your mind,” she recalled. “It’s the only time I think I’ve ever been that still as an adult ever. Seven minutes and fourteen seconds of just not moving.”

Mare of Easttown premieres on Crave April 18 at 10 p.m. ET.

BEFORE YOU GO: Kate Winslet on teaming up with James Cameron again

[video_embed id='2170512']BEFORE YOU GO: Kate Winslet on teaming up with James Cameron again[/video_embed]